Eaten Ch.70.1

Chapter 70.1: “What I Sold…”

Ruan Silian brought Zhang Jinya to the kitchen. In the middle of the kitchen, they had built a simple stove out of outdoor stones. The firewood inside was half-burned, half-not. She walked over and added two more pieces of wood; the flames immediately curled up the logs and rose with a hungry lick.

The water in the kettle was still hot. Ruan Silian found a clean bowl, filled it to the brim with hot water, and handed it to Zhang Jinya, who was shivering on a small stool.

“Th-thank you.” Zhang Jinya’s voice was hoarse. After spending a few days together, she knew that this young girl in front of her had the gentlest personality among everyone here.

“Are you hungry? I can cook you a bowl of noodles.” Ruan Silian tied up her hair. She took off her coat; underneath was a white knitted sweater several sizes too big. She rolled the sleeves up circle by circle, revealing thin arms with bluish veins faintly showing beneath her delicate skin.

“…Thank you.” Zhang Jinya’s stomach was empty. She drank the whole bowl of water in one go and stared at the girl’s back. She wondered: Someone so mild-tempered and so slim… how did she manage to survive until now?

Unable to hold back, Zhang Jinya asked, “Are you an ability-user?”

Ruan Silian cleaned the pot and filled it halfway with water. “I’m not an ability-user.”

Not an ability-user? No powers at all?

Zhang Jinya’s emotions tangled together—shock, a secret thrill at finding someone like herself—but above all, envy.

They were both powerless, yet this girl got to eat and live comfortably among a group of ability-users, while she herself could only follow Zhang Jinnan and get slapped around.

“You’re classmates?”

“Mm. We went to the same high school.”

“That’s nice.” Zhang Jinya set down the empty bowl and reached her hands toward the stove. The fire felt hotter than usual, but she wished she could get even closer.

While waiting for the water to boil, Ruan Silian sat down beside her and casually tossed two more pieces of wood into the fire. “What were you doing just now? The class monitor almost never gets angry.”

“Sigh,” Zhang Jinya’s face wasn’t burning—it hurt. In many people’s eyes, selling one’s body was often a crime more severe than selling one’s soul. “It’s nothing. I just… got lost earlier, and accidentally walked into his room—inside.”

Ruan Silian only smiled without speaking. After a long while, she clasped her hands together on her knees. “I’m the same as you.”

“What do you mean, the same?” Zhang Jinya jolted, “You mean… ha!” She covered her mouth. “But I don’t see who your sugar daddy would be!!! They all seem to treat you really well!”

Ruan Silian forced her lips into a smile. “We just sell different things.”

Not her body? Zhang Jinya was stunned. If not that, then what?

“I sold something I once considered the most precious thing I had.” After saying this, Ruan Silian quietly watched the flickering fire. Her face looked as light as a sheet of paper, ready to drift into the flames—but only in appearance. In truth, she sat very steadily. She wouldn’t burn herself.

Before Zhang Jinya could ask, Ruan Silian turned her head and gave her a faint smile. “My conscience. What I sold was my conscience.”

Zhang Jinya blinked and let out a mocking laugh. “And what’s the big deal? Who even has that anymore? Relax—I feel like a lot of people are no different from livestock now. Conscience? My ass.”

Ruan Silian didn’t respond.

From the swaying flames, she could faintly see the silhouettes of Li Shu and Du Yaoyuan appearing and disappearing again. Of course she loved them—loved them as friends. Both of them were straightforward and reckless in personality. When she had felt helpless and afraid, it was Li Shu who stayed by her side. During the violent earthquake, when everyone else was too busy to notice her, the ground beneath her cracked open with a snap.

She felt a heavy blow—Li Shu shoved her aside and fell in himself, though not completely. She immediately lunged forward and grabbed his hand.

Ruan Silian’s body was being dragged downward.

Her hair kept brushing across Li Shu’s face with each tug.

“Let go of me, Ruan Silian… survive… Ruan Silian.”

After Ruan Silian released her grip, Li Shu’s body fell straight down.

This was something she had no choice but to do, yet it completely violated her own moral standards. In the past, she would have never let go of a friend’s hand, even if it meant dying.

After Li Shu was mentioned, Zhang Jinya pursed her lips. “He volunteered, right? You really had no choice. Besides this… was there anything else?”

Ruan Silian’s fingers trembled slightly. She pressed her lips into a smile. “No, nothing else.”

“The water’s boiling. I’ll cook the noodles for you.”

Ruan Silian’s cooking skills naturally couldn’t match Zhang Jinya’s, but Zhang Jinya ate heartily. Once she started talking, she couldn’t stop, chatting while slurping her noodles.

“You don’t know… every day the food I bring home, I can only eat half a bowl. The rest gets eaten by my brother and Huang Yu.”

Ruan Silian raised an eyebrow. “Your brother steals your food too?”

“What else can I do? There isn’t extra, and I can’t just watch him starve.” Zhang Jinya slurped her noodles and sighed. “That’s just how my brother is. His heart isn’t really bad.”

Ruan Silian raised her eyebrows, showing a rare expression of disbelief. “Oh?”

“And, Huang Yu is an ability-user—you probably knew that on the first day. My brother hooked up with him. Damn, Huang Yu made my brother scream. I was a little shocked, but it wasn’t unacceptable. Everyone has to find their own way, and if he’s willing… I can’t say anything.”

“Besides, just from the sounds, he wasn’t exactly unhappy… well, whatever. He’s bolder than I am.”

Ruan Silian nodded without commenting, then asked Zhang Jinya, “What do you plan to do next?”

“…I don’t know.” Zhang Jinya lowered her head and took several bites of noodles.

Ruan Silian asked her, “Have you ever thought about leaving your brother?”

Zhang Jinya was momentarily stunned. “Leave him… but…”

“Is it that you don’t want to, or that you don’t dare?”

Zhang Jinya gripped her chopsticks. “Maybe both… I guess I’ve already gotten used to it.”

“But now it’s a new era. This is your chance,” Ruan Silian said, picking up a small piece of wood at her feet and rubbing it between her fingers.

Zhang Jinya said dejectedly, “I don’t have any abilities.”

Ruan Silian smiled softly. “Neither do I.”

Suddenly, Zhang Jinya had an epiphany.

Just as she was about to speak, Ruan Silian pressed the wood splinter into the crevice of her fingernail. She kept a calm expression and said softly, “You can go back and think it over. If you make up your mind, you can come find me. I can talk to the class monitor and Wu Heng and get some supplies and self-defense weapons for you. That way, your journey will be much safer.”

Zhang Jinya lowered her head and pondered for a while. A layer of oil floated on top of the hot soup, and the green vegetable froth bobbed around. She had originally wanted to ask Ruan Silian if she could take her on as a cook, but now that Ruan Silian had offered to give her supplies to carry on her way, Zhang Jinya felt that asking for more might be greedy. So she decided to let go of the idea.

After finishing a steaming bowl of noodles, Ruan Silian went into the room and handed Zhang Jinya a thick, warm wolf-skin coat.

Zhang Jinya wiped her mouth and happily put it on.

“You’re really nice. No wonder everyone treats you so well!”

She ran her hands over the soft, smooth fur, reluctant to let go. She didn’t dare ask what animal it came from—she just felt that the moment she put it on, her whole body warmed up.

“I’m going now. I’ll think it over… wrestle with it a bit. When I’ve made up my mind, I’ll come find you!”

Footprints in the snow stretched all the way beyond the yard. The firewood in the stove crackled as it burned. Ruan Silian stood at the door for a long time before finally closing it and turning around.

Yet, as she turned, a shiver ran through her—Wu Heng was sitting where Zhang Jinya had been. She hadn’t noticed when he arrived. He stretched his arms out, warming himself by the fire, giving off an otherworldly, detached aura.

“What did you put in the coat for her?” Wu Heng’s voice spoke softly after a long pause.

—

Humming happily, Zhang Jinya walked along, but halfway through her steps grew heavier. The warmth from the hot noodles and the stove had begun to fade from her body.

She was less than three years younger than Zhang Jinnan. As children, they fought constantly. By the time she was eighteen or nineteen, she simply couldn’t beat him anymore and stopped. Any later conflicts with Zhang Jinnan were one-sided beatings. Her parents didn’t intervene—but neither did they help Zhang Jinnan. They said victories and defeats were up to oneself. At that time, she hadn’t sensed any favoritism in her parents’ words; she thought they were fair.

Until the end of the world came, Zhang Jinnan could eat two bites, she only got one.

She hesitated to act against her zombified parents, while Zhang Jinnan could open the window and push them down the stairs without hesitation.

Would there ever come a day when Zhang Jinnan would do the same to her?

Yet, during her teenage years, when she was harassed by boys her age, Zhang Jinnan didn’t go to the internet café for a whole month. After school, he would go straight to her school to wait and walk her home.

She stepped onto the stairs, stomped the snow off her shoes, and cautiously pushed open the door.

In the middle of the living room, a man sat on the sofa with his back to the door.

“Why are you back so early?”

Zhang Jinya closed the door and stood in place. “I just went inside, and they spotted me immediately. Several of them are ability-users.”

Zhang Jinnan said indifferently, “So basically, it’s because you’re useless. I can sell, but why can’t you? Are women harder to sell than men?”

“…” Zhang Jinya felt a sharp sting in her chest, unable to reply.

At that moment, Zhang Jinnan turned his head and noticed that the clothes Zhang Jinya was wearing were different from what she had on when she left. This new outfit looked clearly warmer than theirs. He rolled his eyes. “They’re still enjoying comfort in this world? Is there food?”

Zhang Jinya shook her head, not daring to mention that she had just eaten a large bowl of noodles—Zhang Jinnan would probably be able to scrape the noodles right out of her mouth.

“Then take off that coat. I want it.” Zhang Jinnan walked up to her, scowling. Large bite marks still marked his neck.

Zhang Jinya didn’t say anything. She unbuttoned the coat, but as she was taking it off, something fell from her body onto the floor with a smack.

“What’s this?” Zhang Jinnan bent down and picked it up. It was a small half-pound strip of meat wrapped in a pocket.

“No… it’s not—this…” Zhang Jinya’s heart skipped a beat when she saw it was food.

Zhang Jinnan pinched a piece of the meat and shoved it into his mouth. Chewing with a grimace, he glared at her. “You lied to me?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he punched her in the face.

Zhang Jinya’s body flew back, rolling twice before lying on her back, dizzy, her head buzzing.

Without thinking, she craned her neck and shouted, “You’re just pissed because you sold your ass, and now you’re taking it out on me!”

Zhang Jinnan paused for a moment, then dashed to her side. His fists, like meteors, rained down on her head, neck, and shoulders like a punching bag. She was nearly beaten into a puddle of pain, two of her teeth loosened in her mouth.

After Zhang Jinnan raised his fists countless times, bloodied and battered, Zhang Jinya summoned every ounce of strength she had to kick him away. Struggling, she got to her feet and felt along for the doorknob with her fingers.

“I’m leaving. Take care… motherf*cker…” she spat blood and opened the door.

Snow began falling again outside, but she plunged into it without hesitation.

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